Weary Wings
by Johnclaw Dragonhelm
Summary: After the events of RE4, Manuela was once again classified, much to Leon's chagrin. Even so, when a new mission involving an infection in an airport comes in, he is reluctant to let her go. Old reminders and new threats linger in the darkened airport... (Sequel to Beautiful Experiment)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Leon and Manuela stared at the floor between them silently as the vehicle rolled along the road, bouncing in almost tranquil fashion compared to the situation at hand. Geared in their agent uniforms, grim expressions accompanying them. Both seemed to be lost in thought.

Finally, Manuela looked up, hesitating a moment before speaking.

"Leon…" The words died on before she finished, unsure of how to continue. Leon looked up, meeting her gaze with his own. The usual glint in his eyes had been replaced with a hard as steel gunmetal grey that made Manuela recoil at how serious they were. Seeing her reaction, Leon softened slightly, but still looked as grim. Gently, he touched her leg, giving a reassuring squeeze to her knee.

"Sorry. Just tense is all. Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned. Manuela nodded, staring at his hand for a moment before looking back to him.

"Yeah it's just...I guess I'm still a little afraid," she admitted with a laugh, averting her gaze in embarrassment and anxiety. Leon smiled slightly, leaning forward.

"So am I. It's been seven years since Raccoon City, and the virus is still a threat. But we have a chance to rescue people here. We were lucky this time; we caught it quickly. We should be arriving in time to help some people." As if in response, the vehicle pulled to a stop and Leon turned to the door, nodding his head in its direction. "Guess we're here."

Taking the lead, Leon hopped out of the back of the vehicle, his boots grinding against the dusty earth, Manuela's lighter steps following his own shortly. Looking over his shoulder, Leon nodded to the driver, who nodded back before driving away, disappearing passed a tent.

Leon and Manuela looked around, taking quick stock of the situation. The entire area had been turned into a tent town, with various armed personnel moving about in the twilight, only lit by the floodlights and dying embers of the airport behind them. Towering over the triangular roofs of the tents, a chainlink fence had been hastily erected surrounding the building, and Leon could easily make out several armed patrols around the edge, clutching their guns nervously. No doubt everyone had one eye to the wall at all times. The feel of the air was tense, and the faint scent of burning and corruption wafted from the derelict structure.

"Hunnigan said the insertion team would be located near the center of the camp," Leon commented, and Manuela nodded in confirmation, falling into step beside him as the two walked along the aisle, passing personnel performing various tasks. Manuela's gaze caught on several people in a fenced off section, in various states of depression, begging with the doctors on the outside to be let out to see their families. Manuela forced herself to look away, knowing all too well how important the quarantines were.

"If everything goes well, they'll get to see their families," Leon commented, as if hearing her thoughts. "They didn't die in the initial outbreak, and soon, they'll be processed through and cleared. Then they can go home to their families. It's our job to get to the people still inside."

"I know it's just...I wish none of this had to happen…"

"It's a terrible situation, no matter how you look at it. The people who have to deny them access to their families on the risk they might pass the infection on aren't the bad guys; it's the maniacs who made the virus. If we can track down the guys who did this, then we can prevent this from happening again…" Leon cut himself off as they approached the command tent, over hearing the end of a discussion from within.

"...what do you think the suits are trying to cover up?," a male voice asked insistently.

"If I knew that, I'd have a hell of a lot more clout. The White House sent a pair of special agents to handle this mess. They should be here soon. You can ask them," a female voice replied authoritatively. Leon turned to Manuela, nodding before stepping in quietly.

"Ask all you like, but honestly, there's nothing to discuss on that subject," Leon assured flatly. Manuela followed him in, gently closing the tent flaps as she entered. Looking at the group inside, Leon began planning mentally. The two voices that had been discussing seemed to be the main pair in charge. The feminine voice seemed to belong to the squad leader, a woman with light brown hair and slender features that seemed almost out of place when compared to her heavy combat gear. _Then again, looks can be deceiving_ , Leon reminded himself, casting a glance at Manuela.

He determined the other voice had belonged to the larger man across the table from her, since they seemed to be discussing when he entered. The man had a thicker face, with thin brown hair cut in the standard style. His gear was similarly heavy, and Leon quickly figured out from their gear and the labelling that they were the insertion team.

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded, almost disbelievingly, shifting his gaze between the pair, almost as if trying to figure out which he disbelieved more.

"I'm Leon S. Kennedy."

"And I'm Manuela Hidalgo. We were sent to help," she explained gently. The man and woman shared a moment of shared confusion and disbelief before the woman spoke.

"So...you're the ones?"

* * *

Leon watched as the woman, Angela, outlined the possible points of entry, as well as the general layout of the building. Already, it was looking like a best possible approach out of a crap situation. The area the senator and the other survivors were held up in seemed to be at the end of a series of narrow halls with various high density rooms in them. Perfect infected grounds.

"We believe our best best is to fly in by helicopter and enter through the roof," she explained, drawing the trajectory path. She backed away a moment so she could address the troop. "The team should be comprised…"

"I'll take the two of you. No one else," Leon interrupted, his survivor instinct kicking in. Manuela looked at him for a moment, before realizing why.

"What? Why?!" Angela demanded, turning to him in disbelief. Leon's hard gaze met hers, unflinching despite her surprise.

"Because I don't care to risk increasing the number of infectees," he explained simply before tilting his head questioningly. As he spoke, he looked over her to the rest of the crew, accenting his next point. "You don't want to be forced to kill any of your friends, do you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he turned walking towards the tent flaps. Manuela followed after a moment, glancing back. The man, Greg, started forward, gesturing angrily. "Hey. Hey! Hold on a second! Who does this guy think he is? He doesn't even look military! And she can't be more than a greenhorn..!"

"They're the special operatives assigned to this incident. Let's just...see what they can do," Angela defended with a sigh. With an angry, defeated look on his face, Greg threw up his hands before shaking his head.

* * *

Once in the air, Leon began quickly checking his pistols, the familiar motions coming swiftly to him as he turned and tilted the weapon in his hand. Manuela performed a similar action with her submachine gun, seated on Leon's right, further away from the drop door. Angela and Greg sat across from them, specced in SWAT-style gear compared to the light armour of the two special agents.

As they approached, Leon gave them the rundown on infected targets. "Those infected with the virus will attack other people with one exception. The people that are bitten become infected and go on to attack others. The only way to stop the infection is to destroy the infectee's brain."

Angela looked at Leon quizzically, her face twisting in confusion. "Destroy...their brains?"

Leon looked up from his gun, clicking it back for punctuation. "Shoot them in the head."

"We're here," he commented, looking out the window. The helicopter swung around and he dropped out a rope, taking the lead. Angela motioned for him to wait, but he was already gone. She turned to Manuela.

"What did he mean by one exception?" she demanded, stopping Manuela as she grabbed the rope to descend. Manuela smiled mischievously at her as she spoke.

"That would be me," she answered simply before kicking off, sliding down the rope after Leon. Angela shared a concerned look with Greg before following the pair down, landing safely on the ground. Wasting no time, the pair pulled out their weapons, making sure the roof was clear, before moving in synch towards the door. Angela and Greg landed shortly after, unslinging their weapons.

Leon moved towards the roof access, motioning silently for Greg to take one side while Angela took the other, with Manuela standing in the back. After clearing readiness, he opened the door, stepping in to point his light down the stairwell, searching for life signs. Seeing nothing, he motioned for the others to follow. Angela looked to Greg questioningly, and he shrugged. Angela stepped in immediately, heading to the stairs, and Greg waited a moment, seemingly waiting for Manuela.

Manuela however, simply motioned with her weapon for Greg to go first, and after a brief moment between them, he grunted and went in, leaving Manuela to bring up the rear. In the silence of the staircase, their footfalls fell heavy on the stairs. The squad moved down, clearing each landing and peering down to make sure the next was safe until the reached the target floor. The door opened, and Leon stepped through, their lights catching flicks of dust in the silent air.

It was not silent for long, as Manuela stepped beside Leon and motioned to her ear, before motioning ahead. Leon nodded, turning to the other two. "The song of the infected."

"What are you talking about, I don't hear any…?" Greg began, but he stopped as they walked, and the sound managed to reach his ears. It was a low moaning, and Leon could recognize it as the sounds of an undead mob somewhere in the darkened halls.

Leon was about to motion for a slow advance when Angela rushed passed, avoiding both his and Manuela's attempts to stop her.

"Wait!" Leon hissed, moving to go after her. Greg's hand shot out to stop him, but Manuela slammed him in the stomach with a backhanded fist, dropping him despite his body armour and Leon moved quickly but quietly after Angela.

"I'll be right there," Manuela called quietly to him, and he flashed a thumbs up over his shoulder before disappearing the same way as Angela. Turning, she knelt by Greg, thrusting his gun back in his hands. "Come on. We have to catch up to them."

Hoisting him to his feet, Greg groaned but managed to shrug off his momentary stunning, pushing Manuela away as he stood. "What the hell? What kind of punch was that?"

Manuela frowned, pointedly ignoring him. "Come on. We have to catch up to Leon."

She didn't wait long before setting off after him, satisfied when she heard the heavy footfalls of Greg behind her.

* * *

Leon turned into the open doorway, spotting Angela in the darkened room. More worryingly, he saw the man she was picking up, one arm slung over her shoulder. The grey pallor of his skin was all it took for Leon to realize the situation.

"Help is on the way," Angela assured the man. Leon rushed forward, reaching the pair just as the man reared back, aiming to sink his teeth into her throat. His hand clutched the back of her collar and he pulled her back. The infected man fell to the ground, his balance lost. Leon took a half step back, stopping as Angela failed to follow him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Look," was all Leon replied, his grip on his pistol tightening as he looked into the room. Angela gasped as infected began to crawl from the dark places of the room, pushing aside bookshelves and chairs as they began to amass, taking up much of the rest of the room. One particularly close to them began to lunge, and Leon pushed Angela back, firing a single shot into the thing's head, ending it simply.

Going back to back, Leon aimed carefully, firing precisely for the heads. Angela meanwhile, was staring down a zombified woman, hesitating with the shot. The woman tottered forward, and Angela held her hand up. "Stop or I'll shoot!"

Her grip on the gun shook as the infected woman stumbled forward, aggressively gaining ground. Steadying her aim, Angela moved her gun down at the last minute, firing a shot through the woman's leg, causing her legs to fling back, face planting her. To Angela's surprise, the woman didn't stop moving. Instead, she attempted to use her leg from the knee up to push herself along, dragging her face along the floor, determined to attack her. Angela stared in disbelief, muttering to herself. "That's impossible…"

"Angela!" Whipping her head, she turned to see that Greg and Manuela had arrived. Greg was waving frantically to the pair from the open doorway, while Manuela was beside him, firing concentrated machine spray at head level across the room. Several heads exploded in a red burst as both Manuela's bullets and Leon's found their marks, and the two exited the room. At the last moment, Greg burst passed Leon, holding his gun with an overhand grip before spraying indiscriminately into the mob. Compared to Manuela's spray, these bullets hit about chest height, knocking back the infected, as well as destroying various monitors and cubicle walls. "You like that, huh?"

Leon reached out, trying to stop him, but Greg just shrugged him off, firing more, emptying his clip into them. When his clip clicked, he looked at his devastation, nodding to himself. Leon tried again to guide the an out. "That's enough. Stop."

"Get off," Greg warned, shrugging him off again. Stepping out into the hall, Greg did a little combat pump, throwing about his arms victoriously. "Freaks. Yeah!"

Leon and Manuela watched with bare tolerance as he began to head towards their objective, reloading. As he went to remove his clip, a crack appeared on the glass, and a moment later, an infected woman jumped through, tackling Greg to the ground, the gun falling from his hands. The pair hit the ground, and Greg's hands went to her shoulders, holding her at length. His eyes flashed wide with fear as her jaws clicked open and closed in a desperate attempt to find his flesh. He managed to pry her far enough away from himself that Leon could get a clear shot, and he popped one right through her skull, spraying blood across Greg's face. The limp body shrugged to the side and Greg pushed himself back, kicking her body away as he rifle dragged itself by his side because of its strap.

Reaching up, he wiped his face of blood, looking down in terror at his hand. "What the hell man? I shot her point blank there's no way I could have missed her!"

"I told you," Leon started, stepping beside Greg to drag him up by his vest. "The only way to stop them is to shoot them in the head. It's their only vulnerable spot. Don't forget it, otherwise you'll waste time and ammunition. And that can prove to be fatal."

Angela tapped Leon's back and motioned to the room, where the infected were rousing. Leon nodded, stepping back as they bottlenecked towards the window. Angela spoke. "Let's go."

"Manuela, think you can take care of these ones?" Leon asked, causing Angela and Greg to look at the woman in question with confusion. Manuela nodded, unstrapping a simple canister from her belt. She motioned for everyone to stand back as she tossed it into the group, where it bounced off one's head, falling to their feet. Instantly, it burst forth in flame, engulfing the mass, the flames spreading from one foul corpse to the next, quickly burning through tissue until their muscles could no longer support their weight.

Greg and Angela watched in amazement as Manuela moved up beside Leon, neither pausing to watch the fireworks as they headed down the hall. Angela fell quickly in line behind them, while Greg spent a moment looking at the felled woman. A flash of indecision crossed his face, and he delivered an angry kick to her corpse before catching up.

They hadn't gone far when Manuela motioned to one of the doors to the side, tapping her ear again. She paused a moment, and flashed a thumbs up, and Leon quirked an eyebrow. "Someone who's not infected."

"But we're not even close to the VIP lounge," Angela noted, to which Leon only nodded. "How do you know? I can't hear anything."

"Manuela heard them," Leon answered simply, letting Manuela take point. Flashing hand signals, Manuela prepared a breach, knocking the door aside, aiming her weapon just in case there were infected, or possibly even the terrorist who started the infection. Instead, there was only a middle aged man in a business suit, cowering behind a desk, his hand flying up in defense as the flashlights swept to him.

"Don't shoot!" he cried. Manuela motioned for weapons down as Leon crossed over to the man, scanning him briefly for injuries. Assisting the man up, Leon fixed his gaze.

"Who are you? Any injuries?"

"I'm Tyler Statwell, the Senator's secretary. When the outbreak happened, we all were travelling in a group, but the undead massed on us and I got separated. I've been waiting here for someone to find me…None of them got me, don't worry," he assured.

"Mr. Statwell, we're looking for the Senator and any other survivors. Can you tell us where they were headed?" Manuela asked, using a gentle tone to help calm the man. He nodded, stepping into the hall, briefly orienting himself. He pointed down the hall, towards their suspected destination.

"We agreed to head to the VIP Lounge, since it's at the end of the hall and has only one door. I know the way there, since I helped the Senator pick it out. I can take you there," he offered nervously.

"Thank you. Stay between us and we'll all be fine," Leon confided, clutching the man's shoulder. The motion of solidarity seemed to help him, and the man nodded as he took his position in the middle. With the man secured, Leon lead the team down the corridor, reaching a division.

"A right here should be the quickest path," Statwell commented. Leon nodded, leading the team into the dark hall. Silently, the group tracked through the building, diverting course when Manuela detected large amounts of infected. With Mr. Statwell's help, their course was significantly faster, and they soon closed towards the objective.

Once more, Manuela tapped her ear, motioning quickly forward, and both her and Leon rushed forward, turning the corner. Leon quickly reacted as he saw an uninfected woman standing between him and a group of infected.

"Get down," he commanded, aiming his gun. The woman responded quickly, dropping to the floor, allowing him to get the headshots. Turning his light down, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he beheld the familiar face of the woman he had saved.

Claire Redfield, one of the only other survivors from Raccoon City. She looked much the same as she had then, with long red hair held back mostly by a hairband in the back, though sections of hair still draped the sides of her face, giving her a taller appearance. Her blue eyes stared into the light questioningly, as if trying to gauge who was in front of her, and who had just saved her. As her eyes adjusted, she seemed to gasp at the sight of who it was.

"Leon! What are you doing here?" she asked as he extended a hand to help her up. She looked between Leon and the rest of the team, putting together all the pieces as Leon took a step back.

"I could ask you the same thing," Leon replied, a slight tone of humour in his voice. Claire smiled slightly as she looked at the team before spotting the secretary.

"You're the one?" she asked questioningly, realizing he had lead them. The man smiled nervously, nodding as if he didn't deserve to be recognized. Claire thanked him before turning to face the way she had come. "Follow me, I can get you to the others from here."

Leon motioned for the others to follow, and together they headed to the end of the hall, where Claire knocked on the door, informing them that the rescue team had arrived. A moment later, the sound of furniture moving could be heard and the door opened. Before the doors had even fully opened, a little Indian girl ran up to Claire, hugging her around the legs. Leon could only just make out her floral vest and dark black hair from between Claire's legs.

"Claire! You're okay!" she exclaimed, disbelief in her voice. Claire smiled gently, bending down to pick the girl up so that she could rest against her chest.

"Of course I am Rani. I told you I would come back, didn't I?" Rani nodded quietly and Claire tilted her head, motioning for the team to head inside. Once through the doors, they closed them up, sealing the room into silence.

Leon took quick stock of the survivors they had found. There was the Senator of course, a shorter, broad man in a fine suit. He had a certain, Nixon-like look with his wrinkly face and somewhat puffy cheeks, but his head had a rounder appearance to it, with short grey hair. He regarded the team with barely concealed disappointment, as if he had expected a host of angels to descend from the heavens to escort him personally. Leon frowned as he noticed the Senator sitting, realizing he had sustained some form of leg injury. _That'll slow us down_ , Leon thought bitterly.

The other survivors seemed alright. Aside from Claire and the girl, there was another woman. Her nervous appearance, accompanied by her slightly managed blond hair and her uniform told Leon that she was the VIP lounge hostess. In contrast to the Senator, her only problem seemed to be her stress.

"Is this it?" Leon turned to look at the Senator as he spoke, his tone halfway between amused and annoyed.

"Yup," Leon answered plainly. He knew better than to aggravate an escortee, particularly one with as much pull as the Senator had. A glance at Manuela told him that she was just as annoyed, but he noted with a hint of pride that she was restraining herself as well while she talked with the hostess, gauging the situation.

"Reinforcements?" Senator Davis inquired, motioning as if to say "you better or else." Leon shook his head.

"None. We're getting out alone." Senator Davis sighed as he pushed himself up, groaning slightly with the exertion. With a slight limp he began to circle Leon, sizing him up with his politician's gaze.

"Is it too much to hope you at least have some sort of plan?"

"We're going to run across the lobby." The Senator turned on point, looking at Leon with a horrified and disbelieving expression.

"Are you insane?" he demanded, shifting his gaze to the other three members of the team, as if trying to get one of them to countermand Leon's statement. Seeing no one was backing him up, he searched for some excuse. "The lobby is crawling with those creatures!"

Manuela was the one to step in, having caught Leon's logic. "It's the widest area in the airport. It's too dangerous to go around it."

"She's right. They aren't fast. We can get around them," Claire added, nodding to Manuela. Davis looked between the two of them, his face twisting into a frown.

"Since when did the NGO member and the foreigner become such an authority on the subject?" The Senator questioned, glaring at both of them. Leon stepped forward, gaze uncompromising as he snapped his attention to him.

"She's one of the rare survivors of Raccoon City and my partner," Leon said with an emphasis on Manuela's role in the operation, "is the only survivor of the T-Veronica virus. They have more experience with this kind of hellish nightmare than anyone else."

There was a moment of awed silence as people absorbed the information that had just been dropped on them. Greg leaned towards Angela, keeping his voice low. "Hey, Raccoon City, isn't that where the…?"

"Yes," Angela confirmed before he could finish, glancing at Manuela and Leon. Leon seemed not to have noticed their conversation, but Manuela had glanced at them. Angela looked at her with suspicion and a hint of fear. The woman seemed to have skills beyond anything she seemed capable. _There's more going on here than I thought_ , she realized.

"We all set?" Leon asked, snapping everyone's attentions back to him. A few hesitant nods came, and after a minute, the Senator threw up his hands, giving in. Leon nodded, standing tall. "Alright, here's how it will go."

"I'll be in the front. All unarmed personnel will be in the middle with Manuela. If worse comes to worse and an infected gets passed one of us, she can fight them off. Greg, you'll follow up the back with the Senator, since you've been trained for this kind of thing and can fire your weapon one handedly. Angela will be with you to provide extra firepower."

"Stick close to the group and stick together. If we get split, stick with someone who has a gun, but stay behind them. Any moment's delay due to having to adjust your aim can mean death. If we all stick together, everyone should make it out alive."

"Why is she in the middle?" Greg asked, annoyed. "I don't see why she's any more physically capable than me."

Leon turned, fixing Greg with a cold stare. "Quite simply put, she could rip your spine out through your stomach bare handed if she felt like it. Besides, we were trained for combat insertion, not rescues. That's your specialty, and you'll do a better job than we would at it. I trust you to protect the Senator."

Manuela smiled lightly at the skillful diplomacy Leon demonstrated and watched as Greg's anger faded into a faint look of pride in his skill. She didn't miss the slightly scared glance at her though, which nearly made her laugh.

As Leon touched a hand to the door, he looked back at the nervous people as they gathered into position. Nodding once, he kicked the door open, preparing for a fight to escape.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Keep up with me Rani," Claire insisted, holding the little girl's hand tightly as they went down the hall. Bullet fire rang out above the sound of moaning undead as Leon and Angela began carving their way through the undead in front of them.

The group moved swiftly, using the advantage of their speed and superior weaponry to drive through the halls. The column was tight and as short as was reasonable to reduce the potential for stragglers. Even the Senator, who had to lean on Greg, was keeping up. Everything was going well.

Which is what set Leon on edge as they made good headway. The undead they were pressing through seemed too thin in numbers, like stragglers or wanderers. _There must be a larger group somewhere_ …

Busting through a door, Leon's eyes widened as he beheld the large group of undead in the tight quarters. Their main advantages; speed and firepower, were completely negated by the sheer mass of bodies. Without pausing, Leon began firing, taking quick shots at the nearest ones, taking out a few on Angela's side as she hesitated to react in surprise

Manuela shoved Claire and Rani behind her, one hand going protectively to the little girl as she fired away with her machine gun. Despite the strong kick of the gun, her adrenaline and strength allowed her to hold it tightly, concentrating her fire dead ahead of them. It even took off the edge of her nerves so much that when Greg shot to the side of her, she didn't even flinch.

Together, the group stood, protecting its flanks while pushing out a wider berth around them. Leon soon switched to targeting in front of them, before motioning for everyone to advance. Quickly, the group rushed across the room as wounded undead struggled to get up and healthy ones tried to work their way passed the dead bodies.

About halfway across, a zombie broke from the pack, lunging for Greg. Swinging around, Greg pushed the Senator towards his assistant, firing into the zombie. He turned to face the next one when Leon shot it through the head. Greg nodded thankfully, leaning against the wall to reduce the angle of approach as he covered their escape. He fired to his left to cut off the advance, but failed to notice the zombie approaching on his right until it was too late.

The zombie attacked him while he wasn't looking and sunk its teeth into his arm. Angela stepped forward, the crowd blocking her. "Greg!"

Taking his sidearm out, Greg shot the thing in the head, moving to instinctively cover the wound. Looking at his own bloodied hand, her cursed, looking over his shoulder at the group with horrific realization on his expression. Leon and Angela tried to step forward to help, but Greg held up his hand. "Stay back! Go on without me…"

Angela tried to step forward, but Leon grabbed her arm, interrupting her. "Greg...you got this?"

Without looking at them, Greg waved his arm, commanding them to move on, leaning heavily against the wall, bracing himself as he raised his weapon. Leon nodded, pulling Angela back into the group, determined not to let the chance Greg had given them go to waste. Angela struggled half-heartedly against him, but it weakened as they rounded the corner. She kept calling out to him, even when she could only see the flashing of his gunfire.

* * *

"Here...we...go!" With a heave, Claire lifted Rani over her head, where she was able to grab Manuela's hand. With a careful and slow motion, Manuela helped the little girl over the top, making sure she had her footing before letting go of her, though she watched carefully until she stepped away from the edge. Laying back down, she offered her hand to Claire, who jumped for it.

"Try putting your foot there, that's it." With a heave, Manuela pulled Claire up atop the wreckage of the plane. Throwing a cautious gaze around, she went to reach for the Senator when Claire got down to help him instead. Surprised, Manuela briefly checked that nothing else needed handling before joining Leon near the other end of the plane wreckage. From their elevated position, they could see the lobby fairly well, and all the zombies in it as well. In contrast to the pictures she'd seen of the place, it was dark and oppressive. The light of the moon filtered through what had once been grand windows, illuminating the undead horde in streaks as they ambled about the bloodstained floor.

"Are we going to make it out of here?" Senator Davis asked, disbelief evident in his voice as he looked at the sheer number of zombies ahead of them. Manuela had to give him credit in this case; there were a lot of zombies ahead of them…

"We've got a clear view and a straight path to the exit." Leon clicked his gun quietly, making sure it was fully loaded. "We'll kill as many as we can...and run like hell."

"Angela, back me up. Manuela, you make sure to cover our flank, got it?"

"Alright," both women answered quickly, moving into position. Together, they formed a protective triangle around the unarmed civilians. A quick countdown and the bullets began flying.

Claire covered Rani's ears as the gunfire rang out in the otherwise silent building. Leon took quick headshots and even Angela seemed to have learned her lesson about zombies, as her sprays were concentrated to the heads of the infected. Occasionally, one of the civilians would point out an approaching undead. Leon was almost impressed by the cohesion of the group. He'd dealt with civilians in terrorist attacks before, and they were almost never this useful.

"Can't you kill them any faster?" The Senator demanded. _Always one_ , Leon thought to himself. He was half ready to dismiss the Senator when Claire spoke over the gunfire.

"They're starting to gather over here!" Pointing passed Manuela, she dragged his attention to a large mass that had begun pouring out of the various doors on her side of the plane. _Must be attracted by the sound of prey_.

"It's getting tough, we gotta go." Leon moved to get down when he heard a scream and turned. The hostess had fallen backwards in surprise, a few more zombies having spilled out of the twisted wreckage of the plane. Wasting no time, Leon and Angela interposed themselves between her and the zombies, killing them quickly. Even so, more zombies were coming out of the hull, forcing them to stand their ground.

Manuela turned to assist, having killed a number of the undead in the area behind them, when she spotted the Senator looking over the lobby. She had just a moment to realize what he was thinking before he rushed forward, spotting a break in the swarm. In the process, he knocked Rani off the edge, causing her to hit a bit of metal on the way down before rolling to a stop on the ground below.

Claire and Manuela ran to the edge upon seeing the little girl go over. Below, she moved a little, signalling she was still alive. The Senator was running towards the door, but the motion had begun to draw in the remaining undead, which began wandering towards Rani. With a shared glance, both women jumped down, moving quickly to Rani. Claire pulled Rani close to her, almost wrapping herself around the small girl, gaze flicking with almost frantic speed between the oncoming threats while Manuela interposed herself behind Claire, spraying the oncoming undead with hasty shots, aiming to take as many down as possible.

Leon, upon spotting the two in trouble, took a start towards them only to hear a noise near him, turning just in time to throw up his arms to stop the zombie that leapt off a steel beam onto him. Though he could hold it back, he couldn't very well fight while struggling with it. A quick glance revealed that Angela was still fighting off the zombies from the plane, unaware of what was happening. Looking back, he could see that even with Manuela laying down fire, the two would soon be overrun by the number of zombies closing in around them.

"CLAIRE!" Hoping to any deity that she would hear him, Leon tossed his pistol in her direction. Her training kicked in and she stood up, planting a kick into an approaching zombie before grabbing the pistol with her off-hand. Spinning it quickly to fit her grip, she cocked it back in motion before shooting the stunned zombie. Without stopping, she turned, holding Rani to her hip protectively, before shooting two more zombies. Between the two of them, Manuela and Claire managed to kill off the zombies that threatened them.

Seeing that they were safe, Leon focused his attention on the zombie that threatened him. Driving a leg up into its stomach, he flipped it over his head before drawing out his sidearm and shooting it in the head. Once he was sure it was dead, he looked over to where Claire and Manuela stood, visibly exhausted. "You alright?"

"Barely," Claire responded, though the slight smile told him all he needed to know. Sliding the pistol into her back pocket, she carefully picked up Rani, hugging the little girl tightly. Looking to Manuela, she nodded her thanks.

Returning to the group, the three girls climbed out of the crevice. Claire walked over, Rani balanced on her hip. She slipped the pistol out of her back pocket, handing it to Leon. "Thanks."

Leon nodded, returning his sidearm to its holster before clicking through his weapon, making sure to reload it. Claire smiled at the reasonably obsessive motion before turning to Manuela. "And thank you for jumping in to help us."

"It was no problem. You handled yourself well," Manuela complimented, looking Claire up and down, putting together Leon's stories with this woman in front of her. Finally, she smiled reloading her pistol. "Now come on. Let's get out of here."

Claire nodded heartily in agreement. A quick glance changed her expression though as she noticed a particular person missing in the group. "Where's the Senator?"

"He probably already made it out through that door," Leon said, pointing towards a door on the far end of the lobby, which had a brilliant white light shining through it. "Those are floodlights. There's probably a security team just outside the doors. That's our best avenue of escape. Everyone ready?"

Leon hopped down from the wreckage, hitting the floor where there was tile. Manuela landed beside him, and they both turned, arms outstretched. Manuela caught the hostess while Leon caught Mr. Statwell, helping them quickly to their feet. Leon nodded to Manuela and she began running for the exit with the two civilians beside her. Leon himself waited another moment for Claire to jump down, drawing his pistol. With a heavy thud, Angela landed beside him, ready to hold back the horde for Claire.

Claire held out her arms for Rani while Leon covered her. A small feeling of deja vu passed over him as he realized it had been very similar when they were in Raccoon City, with Claire helping Sherry then. Fueled by the desire to protect, Leon devastated oncoming zombies, exploding their heads with deadly accuracy.

Once Rani was in Claire's arms, they started running. _Thank God it's a tile floor instead of a dirt trail_ , Leon thought to himself as they pushed themselves as fast as they could go. He could see Manuela by the door, firing sprays of machine gun fire into the crowd, aiming for legs this time to slow the approaching masses and buy them time. He glanced back at the same time as Angela, and as he reached the light, he could just make out the form of Greg amidst the oncoming zombies, grey and devoid of real life. He could hear Angela's choked back tears as they entered the light to safety.

* * *

The sight that greeted the group on exit was one Leon had seen too many iterations of.

Even before they made it halfway to the fence, a team of heavily armed men were approaching the building, guns and flamethrowers in hand. He knew what the area would look like after they were done.

A group of medical personnel, clad in scrubs and masks, ushered them towards the fence, pressing them with questions and inspections. Leon and Manuela complied with the rapid requests easily, having been subjected to them before, but for the civilians, it was chaotic. Leon frowned as he watched the V.I.P. hostess panicking, being supported by the doctors, and Mr. Statwell just seemed exceptionally tired.

Claire was the hardest one for him to read her reaction. She seemed fine, other than being concerned for Rani. She was currently holding the young girl's hand while the doctors inspected her. The doctors did their best to avoid scaring the little girl while being efficient; every moment counted in a biohazard. One of the nurses was talking with her, occasionally asking Claire a question to clarify details. Leon could tell she was a professional by the way she talked and presented herself; calm and friendly. Between the two women, Rani calmed down significantly from when they had fled the building.

Leon snapped to attention as his radio went off. Flipping it open, he saw Hunnigan's familiar face. "I just saw the news feed about you making it out. What's the status?"

Leon turned to one of the doctors, motioning questioningly with his head about stepping outside. The doctor glanced him up and down, taking in the uniform he wore before nodding. Leon turned to Manuela. "I'll update you when I get back. Keep an eye on them for me."

Manuela nodded as Leon stepped outside, watching him go. Once he had disappeared behind the flaps of the tent, she turned her gaze to the other survivors. Beside their little group were many more people, and it was clear to her that the doctors were overwhelmed by the load of work. As she watched, a doctor came through the flaps, and beyond, she could see people at the fence, pleading with the guards to let them through.

"Excuse me," she interrupted, grabbing the doctor's arm gently. "I'm Agent Manuela Hidalgo. I noticed you're short staffed. Can I help at all? I am trained."

The doctor's concerned expression faded a little and he nodded at first to himself, then to her. "Yeah, yeah...uh, if you want to go help move around some of the medical equipment, that would be an immense help."

"Where do I need to go?"

"Just go to the end of the row. There's a tent near the end of the fence where we load and unload. The medical supplies are there. The staff will tell you where they need to go."

Manuela nodded, hurrying out of the tent. Glancing both directions, she saw the tent off in the distance, with a fairly steady procession of people entering and exiting it. Immediately, she headed off towards it, rushing as fast as was safe to.

Stepping into the tent, she immediately took in the haggard appearances of everyone around her and it dawned on her about just how much was going on. During a mission, time flew as each second flew by in bullets and running, but to those helping the survivors, each moment was another long moment of hell. Each wasted moment was a decreasing rate of survival.

For a moment, Manuela could almost feel the world threaten to spin out from under her as the gravity of it hit her. But instead, she willfully buckled down, focusing on her task. She would make a difference; she would help. The days of watching disasters happen around her were over, she reminded herself. Having reached the head of the line, she accepted a crate of meds. The man began to turn to the next person.

"I can take more. Just load them up, I'll say when it's too much," she offered. The man eyed her in surprise, stacking on another one on top, followed by another until he was staring at her in blatant surprise. The stack was easily taller than her, and she balanced it expertly, her senses telling her if it tilted even slightly. Nodding, she began to head out. As she left, she could hear the others in line asking for more crates to carry.

Manuela smiled to herself as she carried the crates of meds to each tent, with a doctor or nurse usually unloading one off her when she stopped by. Everywhere she stopped, she could see people suffering from wounds other than zombie attacks, requiring everything from disinfectants to painkillers to inhalers.

Finally, she came around to the tent she'd started in, handing off the last crate. She looked around for Leon, only to notice none of the others were still there. She caught the attention of the same doctor as earlier. "Excuse me, but where did the others go?"

"They turned up fine. I think they headed that way," he offered offhandedly, motioning towards the nearest fence. Manuela nodded in thanks, ducking out of the tent. She had barely walked more than a few feet when Leon jogged up. She turned to greet him with a smile but then she saw the grim look on his face.

"What happened?"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: A couple of notes when reading this story. Firstly, there is some difference in this universe's canon and the actual universe, so a couple of things are different. Secondly, because of the primary focus on Leon and Manuela, some scenes from the film will not be described, though they still occur. An example of this is when Claire discusses her suspicions on who the terrorist is, as she saw him earlier in the film, but neither of the characters that are the focus of this story were present for that scene.

 **Chapter 3**

"We just got confirmation that it was the T-Virus that was released here. The Marines we saw on the way out have all been vaccinated against it."

"There's a vaccine?" Manuela was taken aback by the sudden news. Last she checked, the disease was incurable.

"WilPharma are the ones who developed it. It was part of an agreement between the U.S. government and them. They were given samples of your blood and the T-Virus as well as special leniencies in exchange for as much anti-virus as they could make. I don't know all the details, but between the tests and the cross referencing with your strain, they were able to get it out just in time for the strike squads."

"How did WilPharma get results on the virus?"

"The news reports from India. That wasn't their work; those people were infected by terrorists. WilPharma used the infected to test their cure, and once they were reasonably sure it would work, the U.S. got permission from the Indian government to administer it to the nearby communities. It was a success," Leon explained, but Manuela could hear the slightly bitter tone in his voice at the mention of the testing.

She had to agree with him. Even if it got results, the idea that they knowingly infected individuals to test the vaccine was disturbing. But another part of her knew that if they hadn't tested it, it could very well have come back to bite them, failing during a crucial outbreak.

But most of all, she felt uneasy. Her blood had been used to cure the disease, but the thought of the people who died for the cause made her feel sick. Like she had been used for something evil.

"There's more," Leon continued. "FBI picked up a member of General Grande's army in L.A. It'll take some time to make him spill, but he can lead us back to the provider."

"...we don't have that kind of time do we?" Manuela had worked with Leon long enough to know that when Leon mentioned time limits, there was also something in the way of meeting them. She felt her pace quicken and she felt the need to find Claire and the others.

Leon seemed to sense it, looking around questioningly. Manuela nodded for him to follow her and they both began jogging toward the outer perimeter. "They've demanded we release information connecting the United States government to the Raccoon City Incident."

"But Leon...?"

"I know. It'll cause everyone to lose faith in the government and isolate us from foreign powers. But they're also threatening to release the virus into major population centers if we don't."

Manuela looked over to see the deep set frown on Leon's face. She knew the mental struggle he was going through. Though she had never experienced everything he had, she knew he was deeply devoted to his country. Their country. He knew the reasons for backing Umbrella were originally good, and what it had spawned. But he also knew that others wouldn't come to that conclusion.

Looking over, she could see that Leon had focused his gaze ahead of him, lost in his own thoughts. Manuela glanced around, trying to figure out what she should say. Everywhere she looked there were reminders of the nature of the world they lived in. In a moment, the people you loved could be taken and turned against you.

Both of their thoughts were interrupted as they heard a familiar voice above the noise of the camp.

"You bastard! That girl will have nightmares for the rest of her life because of you!" Both the agents immediately recognized the voice as that of Claire, and not too far off either. A shared looked passed between the two and they ducked behind a row of tents, jogging towards the spot. A flash of light caught Manuela's attention and she stopped to see a truck driving towards the fence. Even in the dark, she could see the WilPharma logo on the side.

"Leon look! WilPharma trucks!" Leon turned to look, taking her word for it.

"They're not just vaccinating the soldiers…" he gasped, genuinely surprised at the turn of events. He turned, taking off even faster towards the Claire, Manuela following close behind.

They arrived just in time to see Claire shifting her gaze confusedly between the Senator and a white haired man in a business suit. Her expression was one of wanting to be angry, but not having the grounds for it.

"An inoculation. That's what they've been working on. A way to prevent future outbreaks." The Senator wore a smug expression on his face despite the glaringly red handprint on his face. Putting two and two together, Leon almost smiled.

"But…" The words left Claire's lips with confusion and betrayal. Leon took a step forward and she caught sight of him in the corner of her vision, turning. Her eyes flashed with a brief call to back her up, but she soon saw his serious expression.

"Claire, it's true," Leon stated simply. Claire's vision switched between Leon and the Senator, the whole world threatening to crash down on her.

"You...knew?" she demanded, and Manuela could see the effect it had on Leon, even if no one else did. His posture became even straighter than usual, like he was bracing himself. He paused before he began speaking.

"Yes. I didn't think its use would get sanctioned this quickly," he admitted.

"Then the human testing in India..?"

Leon was about to speak when Manuela cut in. "Terrorists. WilPharma used the opportunity to test a vaccine. It was a success."

Angela spoke up, surprising both agents, who had failed to notice her at first. "Why the hell didn't you break out the vaccine for this? If we'd been inoculated before entering the terminal, Greg would…"

"Inoculation would have been entirely possible had TerraSave not backed us into an adversarial corner. Had we been able to follow proper procedure as outlined in the original schedule the government medical stockpile could have been shipped anywhere in the U.S. within twelve hours."

All eyes went to Claire, who had a growing look of realization and fear on her face. "Oh my god...Then it's all our fault…"

"I couldn't argue with you there," the Senator gloated evilly. Despite her anger, Claire didn't muster the energy to argue with him.

"We just ended up making things worse…" she muttered.

"That's not true," Leon asserted. Manuela almost took a half step back from the intensity he said it with. "The villains here are the ones who used the virus. But worse than them are the ones who made it. Seven years ago, our lives were changed forever by the virus from Umbrella Corp. Umbrella collapsed, but their viral legacy continues to spread."

Leon's expression grew dark as he looked around him. His eyes swept over the tents, as if trying to commit every single person there to memory. Finally, his eyes rested on Manuela, and she felt her breath stop with the intensity of his gaze. A determination she had only seen glimpses of lay behind his eyes. Finally, he turned back to Claire. "I'm going to scrub this virus from the face of the Earth. You chose the role of rescuer rather than fighter, like us. You chose a path that neither us, nor your brother could follow. You weren't wrong."

Claire smiled a little, taking comfort in his words. Looking up from the ground, she met his gaze. "Leon, thank you."

Leon was about to smile back when an explosion could be heard not too far from them. Horrified, they watched the medical trucks go up in flames. Realization hit Leon moments after it occurred, but before he had even realized, Manuela was already rushing towards the fire.

"Manuela!" He watched as she jumped into the flames while others tried to escape them. Rushing over, he looked about quickly, his mind racing. Briefly, he remembered some procedure about the storage of fire extinguishers in biohazard camps and ducked into a nearby tent. Finding one as he expected, he dashed back out, already being joined by others who had similar ideas. He heard steps behind him and glanced to see Claire beside him.

"What is she doing?! She'll burn alive!"

As if called, Manuela burst from the flames, rolling along the ground. She pushed something aside as she stopped. Reacting quickly, Leon unloaded the extinguisher on her, putting out the flames that licked at her clothing before turning it on the object she had carried. Manuela coughed as she pushed herself up and Leon knelt beside her to help her up. Claire quickly moved to her other side, supporting the other side.

"Is the box okay?" she asked, and Leon nodded. "Check the supply. Is it alright?"

Claire nodded to Leon, and he let go to kneel beside the box. As realization dawned upon him, he opened the clasps, which were slightly charred. Inside the box, several vials were secure in their clasps, having escaped the brunt of the explosion. Claire's eyes widened as she beheld the contents.

"Are those the..?"

"The vaccine!" The white haired man stepped forward incredulously. "Is this all that was saved?"

Leon looked up from the box to the burning remains of the truck. Around it, people attempted to put out the flames, which only burned higher from the chemical fuel. Around it, people were being dragged away with wounds. "Somehow, I don't think any more made it out of there. Is there any more?"

"No. This was all we could scrounge together from our tests."

"Where is the manufacturing data?" Claire demanded.

"You don't think they're after the manufacturing data do you? What do they want?"

"The truth," Leon answered cryptically, causing everyone to shift their gazes towards him. "They demand the truth. The viral weapon from which Umbrella Corporation's T-Virus was derived. They want to reveal that everyone from the U.S. government was involved."

Manuela watched with rising fear as the group began to react. Some of them were disbelieving while others seemed angrily. Protectively, she took a step towards Leon, hand ready to shoot to her hip.

"Was the government really involved?"

"The proof went up in smoke along with Raccoon City."

"Wait a minute, the truth didn't disappear. There never was any!" the Senator argued angrily.

"Try convincing the terrorists of that," Leon challenged.

"What happens if they don't get that information?"

"They'll disperse the T-Virus into every populated area in the U.S. The deadline is midnight."

"That's only four hours from now!" Angela announced, alarmed.

"Can we find out who the terrorists are?"

"I have a clue as to the identity of one of them," Claire announced, surprising everyone. "Right after the first infected victims appeared in the airport terminal, I noticed a man in the lobby. His name is Curtis Miller."

"I know him! He's one of those bleeding hearts protesting the construction of the new research facility!"

"It can't be…" Angela muttered, almost unnoticed. "Curtis Miller is my older brother. He would never do something like this."

"He threatened WilPharma!" Senator Davis retorted.

"He just demanded the information be made public!"

"Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn't see it that way. If you claim he's not a terrorist, why don't you bring him here to explain himself?" the Senator invited almost amicably. His face contorted with anger before he shouted, "now!"

Angela glared at the man for a moment, and Leon was almost worried that she'd actually hit a Senator. Instead, she spun on her heel, marching away. A sinking feeling came to Leon's stomach and he looked to Manuela. He could see the same feeling on her face.

"You watch after here. I'm going to stay here and help the clean-up. I'll find you when everything's wrapped up," Manuela assured. Leon nodded before turning and sprinting off after Angela before she disappeared.

* * *

Angela knelt by the burning building, stunned. Leon stood a little ways behind her, unsure of how to respond. At long last, Angela began to speak. "Once when I was a rookie cop, I responded to a call about a small child that was stranded on a sandbank in a flooding river. I impulsively jumped into the river. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed, bleary and disoriented. They informed me afterward that I had saved the child. But three S.R.T. members were injured while fishing my sorry butt out of the water."

"Talk about depressed. I felt lower than dirt. What was I thinking, putting others in harm's way like that? Not to mention that I could have been killed too. But then Curtis said something that made me stop beating myself up. 'If you don't try to save one life, you'll never save any.' In the end, his own words came back to haunt him…"

Leon's attention was distracted when his phone buzzed. Quickly, he checked the caller. _Claire_. "Claire, what's wrong?"

"Leon, get over here to WilPharma right now. They've got the G-Virus. They were going to make a vaccine like the T-Virus, but Davis just called Frederick and told him to get rid of it."

Leon's mind raced and he began rapidly dialing to get Manuela into the call as he spoke. "Is Frederick there?"

"He just went to go fix the server"

"Or he may have gone to dump the virus." In the background, Leon could hear a phone begin to ring.

"There's a call coming from inside the building. Hold on." Leon nodded, checking his phone. Manuela had connected and he took the opportunity to patch through to her.

"They have the G-Virus at the WilPharma facility. Get over there as soon as possible. We'll meet…" Leon's voice trailed off as he heard the word "bomb" in the background. He barely had any time to respond before a loud explosion could be heard.

"Claire? Claire?!" He waited a moment for a response. Receiving none, he began speaking quickly to Manuela. "We need to get over there now. I'll call Hunnigan and get you a transport over there. Understood?"

"Loud and clear. Meet you there." With that, Manuela hung up and Leon turned to face Angela, who had turned to listen to the conversation.

"Let's go. I think I know where your brother went."

* * *

When they arrived, Leon immediately noticed that Manuela wasn't there. He immediately reached for his radio, calling her up. "You there?"

"Yeah. Just a little delayed. I'm coming with a squad. We should be there in no more than a few minutes."

"Alright. We'll recon the site, see if anyone survived and maybe get a bead on Miller's location."

"Understood. Be careful Leon."

"Will do. You too. Leon out." Putting the radio away, Leon spotted a glowing terminal in the middle of the room. He nodded to Angela as they approached it. It seemed to project a map of the rooms, with many of them glaring red. "Looks like the sections are blocked. Let's split up. We can meet the team in the inner garden if we don't find Curtis by then. Ready?"

Angela clicked her gun, standing straight. She cocked a small smile. "Ready."

She turned on her heel to go when Leon spoke again. "Angela. You're not alone in this. We're in this together."

Smiling, she nodded. "I know."

Leon watched to make sure she reached the door safely before turning. Heading in through a door, he found himself in a darkened hallway. The pipes and metal interior told him that it was meant to be a working area, rather than a public zone. Drawing his pistol, Leon took a cautious step forward. The whole situation reminded him of some of facilities he'd travelled through in Raccoon City. With each step, his boots crunched, light taps ringing with each light footfall. _If there's any undead, I doubt they'll notice, but if it's a human…_

Approaching an elevator, Leon stepped inside, clearing the corners. He punched in the dial for the garden level. When the doors opened, he already had his pistol ready. Straining his ears in the darkness, Leon could hear a tapping noise. _Definitely not a zombie_ , he thought to himself, readying his weapon. As it approached, he waited, tightening his grip on the gun.

Swinging around, he almost immediately pulled it back. Standing before him was Claire, nursing an injured leg while using a sturdy metal pole to allow her to move. She seemed to allow her exhaustion to show as she saw Leon.

"Leon," she groaned, allowing herself to lean against the wall.

"What happened? Where's Frederick?"

"He was telling me about a time bomb in Level 4 when…" Claire trailed off as she adjusted to alleviate her injured leg. Leon frowned as he observed the bloodstain around the wound.

"A nasty wound. We gotta get out."

"I'm all right. Listen to me, Curtis was here, I saw him. He came out of level 4, where the G-Virus was held."

"Alright, we'll handle it. But you have to get out of here. Go straight down this corridor. Head to elevator AD-2. It'll take you to an outside exit."

"Okay," she acknowledged, gripping the pipe tightly. Leon turned, looking towards where she had come, and felt a sense of foreboding. The roar he heard didn't help at all..


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Manuela lifted her pistol in sync with the soldiers beside her. They had just arrived in the center garden to see the target, Curtis Miller, with Angela. Immediately, she could tell from his stuttering gait that he was infected with something, and she had her suspicions that that something wasn't the T-Virus.

Her mind flashed back to Leon's account of Raccoon City. He had encountered many horrible things, but the thing he dreaded the most was the G-Virus. The things he had told her about it were...horrible.

She glanced at Angela and almost immediately regretted it. The look of shock and horror on her face was obvious, and only got worse when a pair of soldiers closed on her, grabbing her arms to get her away from Curtis.

Curtis himself was starting to stumble, body contorting violently. Underneath his clothes, his flesh rolled and began to change. Manuela held her fire and was glad to see the others doing so as well. It would only make things worse in his mutagenic state.

"In a moment," he shouted, throwing his arms wide, "I'll reveal the irrefutable truth…In my own personal way..."

As he spoke, Curtis' shoulders began to swell, flesh tearing through the fabric. The colour of his skin began to shift away from the normal healthy tones to a patchwork of sickly green and fleshy pink. With each contortion, his limbs lengthened, muscles becoming more obvious and disturbing. He threw back his head, and the final stage of his mutation came upon him, his right arm sprouting into a broad claw, with a massive, yellowed eye lodged in his shoulder. "And all of you, will be the VERY FIRST WITNESSES!"

Curtis' voice crescendoed from a yell to a roar, the inhuman tone of the monster he had become taking over. Recovering use of his body, he took a step forward, a dark look in his eyes. Manuela didn't hesitate now.

The sound of her bullets rang out with the semi-auto fire of the soldiers, though her aim was more focused than theirs. While the rifle rounds impacted every square inch of his body, her shots focused on the massive eye in his shoulder. She remembered Leon mentioning that as a weak spot in G-mutations and she intended to take full advantage of it.

She was surprised when it raised its massive hand trying to protect itself. The large shape of the hand blocked most of his body, but the force of the impacts did cause him to shake with the force, opening a few spots for targeting. Under sustained fire, the bullets sapped his strength, forcing him down, where he fell forward, collapsing. The commanding officer raised his hand, calling for a cease fire.

As he spoke into his headset, Manuela eyed the body suspiciously. It had been too easy. Leon had been chased by one of these things across an entire city, and thrown worse at it. Something told her it wasn't over, and a quick glance at Angela told her all she needed.

"Keep your arms up!" she shouted, swiftly reloading. The other soldiers startled, doing as told just as the intercom blared a warning about detecting a lethal viral strain. From the dust, Curtis began picking himself up, stumbling forward. As he walked, he regained his balance, quickly regaining his strength.

Manuela wasn't sure if she ordered an open fire, or if the soldiers panicked, but either way, the world around her was filled with gunfire, none of it effective as Curtis charged forward. The captain screamed some kind of confused, afraid proclamation, but it was cut off as the spikes of Curtis' hand impaled him like he was made of paper. Without so much as batting an eye, Curtis swung his arm in a wide arc, knocking over or back several men.

Retreating backwards, Manuela unslung the rifle she had grabbed from the armoured truck before entering. Looking down briefly, she clicked the safety off before looking back up. The world seemed to slow down as she realized she had lost sight of Curtis. Her eyes dashed upwards, and she could see him arcing towards a man off to the side, who was slowly raising his gun to fire the underside grenade attachment.

Taking a breath, she tracked the arc with her rifle, mind spinning as she tried to predict what he'd do. Sucking in a breath, she tensed her finger on the trigger, bracing against the kick. A spray of yellowish material and the horrific shriek told her she had hit her mark, and she watched as the grotesque eye spasmed horribly in its socket, damaged from the shot.

Curtis landed, rolling as his feet failed to properly stop his impact. The man he had attacked was caught in his path, and the large body of Curtis rolled over him. From this distance, she could see he had managed to survive, but only just. Determined to draw the monster's attention, she hastily took another shot, missing the eye, but hitting its chest.

It reacted just as she hoped, turning to face her. The bloodshot eye looked directly at her, twitching violently as it tried to see her through the damage. Even as she watched, the eye began to heal, steaming in an attempt to burn out the bullet, which was interfering with its healing. With a roar, it began running towards her.

"Get out of there!" Manuela spun with a gasp. Across the room, she could see Leon, aiming high above her with a gun he seemed to have picked up from one of the soldiers. Her eyes tracked the path, and she could see the destabilizing beam above her. With rising panic, she realized his plan and turned, beginning to run at a dead bolt.

Suddenly, she spotted Angela off to the side, standing in stunned stillness. Her eyes were trained on Curtis and Manuela could tell just from her expression that she was in shock at what was happening. Behind her, she could hear Curtis change his angle to pursue Angela. Leon's stories came back to her. _The G-virus seeks out relatives, since they are the only ones capable of carrying on the perfect form of the virus_.

"Angela! Run for it!" Leon shouted. Somehow, his words managed to reach her and she began to turn just as Manuela passed parallel to her. Soon, both of them were running and Leon fired. The small grenade arced through the air, impacting the barely supported steel. With a blast, it tore through the last remnants of the base, sending the whole thing cascading down.

Manuela could feel the thuds behind her as Curtis closed on them, but was surprised when Angela tackled her in the back, both of them narrowly avoiding the metal as it speared into the ground. Before he had any chance to respond, Curtis was buried underneath tonnes of metal and concrete. Both women rolled across the floor from the impact, getting sprayed with dirt and grit.

Manuela coughed as she propped herself up on an elbow. Glancing back, she saw a steel beam inches from her foot. Her eyes widened as she realized just how close she'd been to being crushed underneath all that. A part of her wondered if she'd be capable of surviving it, but she didn't exactly want to test it out. As she stood, she surveyed the area around her, trying to get her bearings.

Locating Angela not too far from her, she extended her hand to the woman. Despite the impact, it seemed Angela had fared well enough, standing with only a little pain.

"Thanks for the shove," Manuela said with a light chuckle.

"It was nothing. Where's Leon?"

"I'm over here. Come give me a hand. There are survivors." Both of them looked over to see Leon across the room, waving his hand to catch their attention. Together the three of them began locating the surviving soldiers, helping them out of whatever places they had become trapped in. Soon, a small group of survivors had been collected, supporting those members who couldn't support themselves.

Just as they retrieved the man who had been crushed by Curtis, they all heard a series of popping noises. At the same time, sprinklers popped up around the lab, spraying out a slightly yellowish liquid that carried a strong scent.

"What is this?" one of the soldiers asked, shaking his hand to get it off. Leon held a hand up to his face, sniffing carefully..

"Anhydrous ethanol."

"Are we being sterilized?!"

"Not us, the building," Leon realized aloud. Just as he spoke, the sheathes on the bases of the sprinklers popped down, revealing the ignition switches.

"Incineration will initiate in five minutes. All exits are now sealed." The electric, feminine voice rang throughout the burnt out chamber, making those present whirl about, looking for some unbarred escape.

"Get all survivors to the central rest area. Now," Leon ordered, his voice brooking no argument. The soldiers nodded, double timing it towards the elevator. Leon, Angela and Manuela followed behind them, eyes peeled for any potential attackers since they were the only ones fit to take them on. Ushering in the soldiers, the three quickly realized that there wasn't enough room for all of them. They shared a look, helping in the last man.

"Oh shit," he realized aloud. He scooted around, trying to make room. "Come on."

"We'll catch the next one," Leon insisted, reaching in to hit the button. The man caught his arm, shoving his rifle into Leon's hands, a grim expression on his face as the doors closed.

"For saving my friend."

A moment later, Manuela turned around, a horrified expression on her face. For a moment, Leon thought she was worrying about the incineration, but then he saw that she was looking off behind him. He didn't need to be told what she heard. "Angela, take this!"

Tossing her the rifle, Leon pulled out his pistols, aiming towards the pile of rubble. As he clicked in his ammo, Manuela raised her rifle, taking aim, adjusting to unheard noises.

Suddenly, the rubble burst forth and the mutated form of Curtis rose from it, brushing aside metal like it was made of fabric. Any traces of humanity had been wiped off his body, leaving behind only a vaguely ape-like monster with distended limbs.

Manuela's shot was first off, planting itself straight into the thing's shoulder mounted eye. Leon's weren't far off, targeting the few unarmoured places on its chest while it was still struggling with the rubble.

Angela watched as her comrades plugged rounds into her brother, keeping him stunned in place. In a moment, she realized why Leon had handed her the rifle, instead of taking it himself. Raising it, she felt her muscle memory kicking in, guiding her aim. With a whispered apology, she pulled the trigger, causing the grenade to arc gracefully through the air before impacting him in the chest.

The blast detonated, knocking him backwards. Unfortunately, the explosion also set off the anhydrous ethanol, causing a pillar of fire to form under Curtis' feet. Realizing what was happening, Leon pushed the two back. "RUN!"

The three ran as fast as the could, already hearing the rapidly expanding pillar behind them. Leon remembered a section of water they had pulled a soldier out of and ran towards it, flanked by both women. All three leapt forward, barely clearing the edge before diving under the waves. Above them, the flames rolled over the surface of the water.

Once they had regained their sense of direction, Leon gazed up, seeing the flames still above them. Grimly, he realized that they would run out of air before the fire subsided. Turning his gaze, he realized the wall in front of them was glass. The others followed his gaze, realizing what he was going to do. He paused a moments to let both of them grab on before pulling the trigger.

It was only a moment before the wall came crashing down, letting the water rush out. The two lighter women were pulled faster than Leon, and he briefly lost sight of them as his head was ducked under the water.

"Leon!" A hand clutched at his arm, and he had just enough time to see Manuela gripping onto him while holding a pole in the other hand before he was ripped away from her. The looming abyss of the central sink approached far too rapidly for his taste, and he began reaching for whatever he could, but everything was too smooth for purchase.

Just as he braced himself for freefall, he found his bandolier grabbed by someone else. Lifting his head, he could see Angela struggling to pull him back from the waves. Leon suddenly became aware of the fact that his lower body was hanging over the edge. Reaching up quickly, he grabbed her arm, securing his grip. Together, the two of them managed to pull him back just as the water stopped flowing.

Leon soon found himself wrapped in a tight embrace as Manuela drew him to her, repeating phrases in panicked Spanish. Her hands ran over his head, as if making sure he hadn't gone over. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere," he coughed, pushing himself up. Manuela let go, remembering they were still on mission. Both of them looked to see Angela standing, gazing over the edge, a pained expression on her face.

"Angela." Leon kept his voice low and gentle as he approached her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "That wasn't Curtis back there. The virus took him over. After he turned, all you became was a breeding tool."

Angela's eyes widened as she realized what Leon meant. Her expression flashed through anger straight to sadness as she accepted the truth. Leon was about to continue when a roar came from overhead. Turning up, he frowned as he saw the monster above them, hanging to an overhead fixture, looking burnt but still very alive.

"Level 4 submerge system will engage soon. Level 4 submerge system will engage soon."

"As if things couldn't get any worse," Leon muttered. "Move!"

Leon began running full tilt at the gap between the two sections, easily clearing it with a roll. Manuela was a moment after him, denting the metal with the force of her impact, though she kept her momentum up, slowing a few meters away from him. Angela was the last one over, jumping further than Leon before rolling to a stand. With a smile she motioned for him to follow.

He barely had time to move forward before Curtis landed between them, and sparing no time, promptly backhanded Leon painfully back across the gap, sending him through the air into a vent on the previous segment.

"Leon!" The countdown in the air seemed to become louder as she realized what section Leon had landed on; Level 4. She had hardly a spare moment to think before she turned towards Curtis, throwing herself in front of Angela. "Run!"

Leon, meanwhile, had picked himself up and was running at at breakneck pace, his muscles begging for him to stop. Even as he reached the halfway point, he could hear the fastenings breaking in preparation for dislodgement. Leaping over a series of pipes, he used his landing to push himself over a duct.

Once he landed, he almost immediately jumped again, rolling over the top of a catwalk with a fluid motion. Sliding off, he grabbed a pipe with both hands, sliding under another series of pipes before flipping up onto another raised section and rolling over it, continuing to run as soon as his feet hit the floor. With a final push, he kicked off an exhaust vent, leaping for the rungs of the next level. As his fingers found steel, he could feel the vacuum of the emptying space below him as the section began to drop into the depths.

He glanced over just in time to witness Curtis' claw coming down towards Manuela. He had no time to call out before she had unsheathed her rifle, bringing it up as a shield, catching the claw between the scope and the barrel. It stopped Curtis long enough that she was able to flick it to the side, opening a brief window. With a flourish, she aimed directly into Curtis' mutated head.

Unfortunately, the virus had mutated him far beyond standard anatomy, and the shot did little more than piss him off. Flinching only lightly, he immediately swung his claw upwards, catching Manuela upwards across the chest, only avoiding being lethal due to her improved reactions. Still, he could see the arc of blood as she was thrown backwards towards the edge, obviously unconscious from the impact.

Her blood managed to buy Angela a moment as Curtis struggled with the flames licking at his skin. Backing up, she began looking for an escape, backing up all the way to Manuela by the time Curtis regained his bearings. Glancing at her downed companion, she could feel her hope begin to die, only to be replaced by resolution at the last moment.

"Curtis…" she whispered, staring at the advancing figure. Deep within the horrific monster he had become, she swore she could still see a fragment of her brother in it. Curtis stopped, looking at something on the floor. Angela followed his gaze, realizing with shock that it was her family portrait. _It must have fallen out of my pocket!_

Picking it up in his fingers, she watched as he held it tenderly, lifting it so he could view it through his massive eye. A strange tenderness shone in the bloodied optic, contrasting the horrific qualities. Angela was about to speak when he uttered a single word. "Run."

Anything she had wanted to say died on her tongue, and she could only choke out a plea. "No...no!"

"I don't want to hurt you," he struggled, shaking his head. "Please…"

Angela nodded, standing proudly before him. Her eyes shone with brilliant resolution as she regarded her brother. "Alright Curtis. Let's finish this."

With that, she closed her eyes, awaiting oblivion. Unbeknownst to her, Leon had made his way around the other sections. After grabbing Manuela with one arm, he fired his grappling hook up, securing a catwalk above them. Quickly, he slid his other arm around Angela, who's eyes opened in surprise a moment before the platform fell away from her feet. Leon groaned as he struggled to hold both women, his grappling line retracting in response to the change in force.

Just as they were about to reach the catwalk, Leon felt Angela come to a stop. Reacting quickly, he flipped upside down, securing the line with his leg. Reaching down, he grabbed Angela's arm just as she was ripped from his grasp. Below them, he could see Curtis, his tail wrapped around Angela's leg.

"Let me go!" Angela insisted angrily, her eyes brimming with tears. "Let me go damn it, or you'll both fall too! You have to destroy these viruses."

Seeing the resolute expression he wore, Angela's anger faded to sadness, and she began pleading with him. "Please, Leon, don't try to save me."

"If you don't try to save one life, you'll never save any," Leon echoed, causing Angela's eyes to widen in surprise. Leon groaned as he contorted, tilting his hips, causing his pistol to fall. Angela reacted quickly, snagging the weapon. Realizing what Leon meant, she looked down, conflict filling her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, firing a shot into Curtis' remaining human eye, causing him to lose his grip, the tail sliding off her leg. She watched as he fell, seemingly in slow motion due to the immensity of the hole. Without his extra weight, she could feel both her and Leon's iron grip, supporting her.

Within moments, blast doors began to close in beneath them just as Curtis disappeared from view in the darkness. A roaring ball of flame rushed up the shaft, and for a moment, Angela thought they'd be consumed, but the blast doors sealed before it reached them. With a grunt, Leon clicked his grapple, causing them to fall the short distance to the blast door.

Even in as much pain as he was in, he let out a sigh of relief, enjoying the cold metal. His relief was short lived, as he remembered Manuela, and was almost immediately beside her. Slipping one arm under her back, he tilted her head towards him, seeing she was truly unconscious.

"She defended me," Angela said quietly. "Will she be alright?"

Leon inspected the long gash in her uniform that ran from her stomach to her collarbones. The wound was deeper at the base, but even then, it was quickly healing. The worse problem was the blood around the wound that was still smouldering. Transporting her to get medical support would be troublesome. "She'll recover. Give me a hand and grab her legs. We have to carry her out of here. Don't get any blood on you."

Angela nodded, grabbing Manuela's legs securely while Leon lifted her under her shoulders, carefully placing his hands to avoid tilting her or getting himself bled on. Together, they lifted her up, and began carrying her out of the burnt ruins.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Are you in position Angela?"

"Just got here. All squads are prepped. Make the approach."

Leon motioned for Claire to proceed. Nodding, she began driving towards the site. Within minutes of their escape from the building, they had managed to track down Frederick's phone. Now, Anti-Biohazard teams had surrounded his position without him even suspecting anything was amiss.

The plan was for Claire and himself to approach Frederick from the front and distract him, allowing Angela and the other members of the team to get behind or to the side of him and secure his person, as well as the viral samples he had.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Claire responded, pulling up the dirt road. A pair of headlights entered their vision, and Leon could see a slightly older man with greying hair leaning against the originating car, a phone to his ear. He turned to look at them with a smug smile on his face, unaware of the drivers. _This must be Frederick_.

Claire parked the car, but left the lights on, stepping out of the vehicle. Leon was only a moment behind her, and as soon as he stepped out, Frederick squinted, trying to see passed the glaring light in his eyes.

"You were supposed to come alone," he commented bitterly. As the two approached him, his eyes widened in recognition, finally able to see them.

"I just wanted to see your face again," Claire teased flatly, a light smirk flashing across her lips. Frederick wasn't thrown off by it and reacted quickly, pulling a gun from his coat, aiming it between the two of them.

"Don't move!" he commanded before aiming it at the case beside him. Both of their eyes flashes at the act, realizing what he was doing. "I have the vaccine and the development data!"  
 _If he destroys that data, it will take months to create the vaccine_ , Leon realized. He was tempted to draw his gun and finish the bastard then and there, but he knew the plan was to take him in. Besides, he couldn't risk the data's safety. Instead, he glared his hardest at Frederick, trying to keep his attention.

A sick smile twisted onto Frederick's face as he straightened himself up from his initial surprise. He puffed out his chest in a sense of self-importance. "Yes, that's right. You two can appreciate the situation better than anyone else...after your up close and personal experience with virus victims. Mankind will need this!"

Just as Frederick began to turn angry and violent, he found a gun pressed to the back of his head. Angela stood behind him, illuminated by the headlights from Claire's car. Her expression told volumes as she pushed the gun against the base off his skull. All pride Frederick had faded immediately as he sunk to his knees, the gun falling from his hand. "Wait! Please! Don't shoot me! Let's talk!"

Angela's face twisted in disgust as she motioned for Leon to grab the case. Leon walked over, securing the case quickly. "You're a smart woman, and smart women like money. We can split it 50-50!"

The gun pressed harder against the back of his head as Angela forced him lower to the ground. Leon handed the case to Claire, beginning to worry that Angela might actually execute him.

"I mean 70-30! I'm happy with 30! Take it all, just don't kill me!" Panic filled his voice and he began shaking all over. "I'm begging you, please...don't kill me."

Leon's breath hitched as Angela's lips curled angrily and she pulled the trigger...only for the gun to click harmlessly. Frederick reacted nonetheless, falling on his face in fear, shrieking like a little girl.

"You're too pathetic to kill," she spat angrily. Kneeling down, she pulled his arms behind his back, tapping her earpiece. "All units move in."

Leon relaxed at last as the other soldiers moved in, fading out of the darkness. Angela clicked a pair of handcuffs over Frederick's wrists while he just lay helplessly, having given up. Running a hand through his hair, he allowed the breath he'd been holding in to escape.

Claire and him watched as the team brought up the armoured vehicle, loading Frederick into it. As the doors closed, all assembled felt a sense of peace, now that one more threat to the world had been taken care of.

"I should report to Hunnigan," Leon said, moving to excuse himself, only to feel a hand on his shoulder. Angela looked at him with a soft smile.

"I'll inform your superiors of the mission's success. I'm sure that there are places you want to get to," she hinted. Leon allowed himself to smile in return.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Claire, would you mind taking him? I have some business to wrap up myself after I make my report."

"I'd be more than happy to." Claire motioned for Leon to get back in the car. He didn't have to be asked twice.

* * *

"Angela!"

Manuela shot up in the bed. Last she recalled, she had been been knocked aside by the rampaging Curtis. Leon had been knocked back onto one of the collapsing sections and…

She had just begun to get out of bed when a familiar hand touched her shoulder, steadying her. "Hey, easy there."

"Leon!" A sigh of relief escaped her as she saw that he was alright. A little dishevelled and tired looking, but very alive compared to her fears. "What happened? Is Angela alright?"

"Yeah. Curtis was destroyed along with the facility. After you were knocked out, Angela managed to reach through to him long enough for me to get to the two of you and get us out of there. Once we were out, we managed to track down the guy who arranged it all. He's in custody now."

"Are you okay? You took a big hit from Curtis."

"Yeah, just a little sore. A couple days of rest and I should be back to speed. You took a pretty big hit yourself. Doctors say that your healing factor was the only thing that prevented you from dying."

Shocked, Manuela pulled away the covers. Pulling on the collar of her gown, she looked down at her torso, and both of them were surprised to see a discoloured scar running down her body.

"Jesus…" Leon muttered, staring at the wound. Even when Manuela had suffered bullet wounds, it hardly ever seemed to leave a mark. The only thing marking her body was before was the area on her arm. "The doctors said you're still stable so I don't know why that's there…"

Manuela didn't say anything, simply touching the area, running her delicate fingers along the slightly raised skin. To Leon's surprise, she let out a relieved sigh. "It's not mutated, just scarred. It feels different than my arm."

"Really? That's good," Leon said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. "I was worried for a minute."

Manuela let go of her collar, running her hand over her arm, feeling the strange texture on it. Leon watched silently as she did so, not wanting to interrupt the personal moment. Whenever Manuela became focused on the mark, she became unusually quiet and introverted. It was still a fresh wound for her, in both senses of the word.

"Here," she offered, extending her arm towards him, hand twisted away as to offer her forearm to him. Leon was taken aback in surprise. She had never once offered to let him feel it aside from after the battle against Javier, and that was only to check that she was okay. Slowly, he extended his hand towards her, fingers stopping inches from her skin

"Are you sure?"

Manuela didn't reply. Instead she reached up and gently pressed his hand to her arm with her other one. Leon was surprised at the feeling.

Her skin had a distinct scaly feeling on the affected area. It was still soft like human flesh, but definitely had the pattern and slight amount of resistance of scales. Aside from that, there were strange patterns that resembled veins, but resembled xylem from plants.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature was the strange pattern on her skin that resembled her father's crest; the intertwined snakes. The mark was coloured a deeper green than the rest of the area, making it look like an actual pair of snakes on her flesh.

When Leon looked up, he found Manuela looking back at him intensely. Leon suddenly became aware of the gravity of the situation. "Does...does it hurt at all? I know when we were in the jungle…"

"Sometimes. Not as much as it used to. Now it's just...normal."

"I had no idea...is there anything I can do to help?"

"No. Just keep being there," she replied with a small smile. Gently, she took his hand in her own, directing it to the top of her scar. "See, I'm fine. It'll heal soon enough."

Leon nodded. Since Raccoon City, he had seen and felt more scars than he cared to. This kind of scar on anyone else would have worried him immensely, but Manuela's healing factor was not to be underestimated.

What worried him more was his rising awareness of the situation at hand. As moments dragged on, he realized that neither he, nor Manuela were making a motion to change the situation.

Finally, Leon coughed, moving to retract his hand. He found his motion stopped by Manuela's iron grasp. Before he could say anything, she had leaned forward, locking her lips to his.

Gently, he kissed her back, turning his hand to hold hers. Every bit of worry he had faded away in the embrace and he gently drew her closer, an act she didn't protest. Eventually, both of them needed to breathe, and they parted gently.

"Thanks for saving me...again."

"You've done the same for me. We're partners after all." Smiling gently, he tightened his grip on her hand.

"Just partners?" she teased lightly, a smile on her lips. Behind it, he could see a flash of worry that he might say something raised his other hand to her cheek before speaking.

"No. Not just partners," he assured, enjoying her presence. She leaned forward, touching her forehead to his, relishing the moment of life after so much death. Manuela squeezed his hand tight for a moment before laying back down on the bed.

"Are they going to get General Grande?"

Leon frowned slightly. "Unfortunately, Frederick used a middle man in his dealings with the General, so tracking down the connections will be nigh impossible. However, with his supply chain scattered, he'll be unable to get his hands on any existing virus, and even if he did, we now have the antigen for the T-Virus, so the damage would be minimal."

Leon leaned back in the chair, allowing his expression to soften. "On the plus side, it might be the push we need to pressure him into some agreements to de-escalate the situation."

"He's still getting away," Manuela pointed out with a frown.

"For now. I've been assured that after this fiasco, he's been moved up the list in terms of political enemies. Hunnigan may have suggested a coup to a more moderate leader may be in stock after he signs the peace accords."

"Thank God. I was hoping he wouldn't get away with it…" she sighed. "Will they be able to make enough anti-virus?"

"For the T-Virus, yes. One of the things we got off Frederick was the development data for the vaccine. Kind of ironic; he blew up the facility to remove all the data, but it was because of him that we managed to recover it. After they make sure that it works, it should be shipped to medical storages everywhere in the U.S. before exporting to other countries."

"And the G-Virus?"

"I don't know. It's hard to stop a primary infection, like when Curtis injected himself, but secondary infections have been cured in the past. Now that we have the data, we should be able to create a reliable cure for secondary infections." Manuela looked closely at Leon's face, detecting some underlying worry.

"Is there something else?"

"Hunnigan said the agency thought the mission was a success. You're going to be declassified. Completely."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes, but they also are considering declassifying another...project."

"What do you mean?"

"Sherry wants to become an agent."


	6. Interlude 2

Bonus 1

Leon was at a lack of anything to say about the situation. He had never expected to be in this situation, with his past and present combining in one moment. He was shocked and concerned, to say the least.

Manuela was about the opposite, and the beaming smile on her face expressed that. She glanced quickly at Leon, eyes gleaming before looking at the person in front of them.

Who looked at them back with wide eyes.

The girl before them was eerily familiar to Leon. Her blonde hair had darkened over time, turning into a dirty blonde. As opposed to the conservative schoolgirl outfit she had worn when they first met, she now wore a white coat that was fairly form fitting, but still professional. Leon barely noticed any of it though; instead, he focused on the fact that this girl...no, this woman in front of him was the same girl.

Sherry Birkin. Daughter of William Birkin, the man responsible for the creation of the G-Virus, and one of the few survivors of Raccoon City. All thoughts died in Leon's mind as he beheld her. It had been years since he'd seen her, only to suddenly encounter her again.

"Sherry..?"

"Leon?" As recognition came over her eyes, a smile broke out on her face and she rushed forward, embracing Leon. He accepted the hug rigidly, still confused. Slowly, his arms came around her and he turned to look at the surprisingly tall head of hair near his face.

"It's good to see you," Leon commented, unable to think of much else.

"I should be saying the same thing! I had no idea you were coming!" Sherry's expression was a bright one. She looked Leon up and down, taking in his appearance. "Wow! You look so different!"

"I could say the same. How old are you now...eighteen?"

"Yeah! Last time we saw each other I was...twelve, I think? Has it really been that long?" Sherry shook her head in disbelief, her hands on Leon's arms. Finally, she turned, noticing Manuela for the first time. "Hello! Leon, who's this?"

"This is Manuela. She's my partner. Manuela, this is…"

"Sherry Birkin. Pleased to meet you," the younger girl interrupted, extending her hand warmly to Manuela. Manuela smiled as she accepted the girl's offered hand, giving a tight shake. The two gazed at each other, unspoken volumes passing between them, all related to the man that had changed their lives.

"I've heard a lot about you!" Manuela returned. "You survived Raccoon City."

"That's correct. It was only because of Leon and Claire though. How do you know Leon? I get the impression that you weren't just assigned to work with him."

"You're right there. He saved me, and I decided to work with him."

"I know that one. Come on, let's sit down and talk," Sherry invited, motioning them to the table in the center of the otherwise sterile room. Leon accepted, still at a loss for words. The three sat down, with Leon and Manuela facing Sherry. The younger girl was practically leaning over the table with excitement.

"Tell me everything that's happened since I last saw you."

"That's a bit of a span of time," Leon said, letting out a breathless laugh. "After I escaped Raccoon City, I became a government agent under the command of the president. A little while after Raccoon I was sent down to Mexico to investigate a drug lord, Javier Hidalgo, with another agent, Jack Krauser.."

"We found out that he was getting biological weapons from an ex-Umbrella employee. By the time we arrived, nearly everyone had been infected by the T-Virus. That's when I found Manuela. She seemed to be unaffected by the virus. From there, she helped lead us to Javier. As it turned out, she was his daughter. We managed to escape and found out that Manuela was actually infected with the T-Veronica virus."

"Wait...what?" Sherry interrupted, looking at the woman in question. Manuela smiled nervously, nodding in confirmation. "I've heard about the T-Veronica but you don't look…"

"Infected? I was extremely lucky. My father he...he had his men kidnap local girls. The doctors, they used the organs to replace my own mutated ones in order to slow down the infection. By the time I met Leon, the mutation had been going for years."

"How did you survive when Leon found you? I read the accounts of Alexia and you should have changed or something by now."

It was Leon who answered. "According to the doctors, the virus bonds with its host if exposed to them for a long time. Alexia also bonded with the virus, and was able to exercise control over her mutations. Manuela is similar, but instead of choosing to mutate, she chooses not to. She did gain improved strength and reflexes from it, but that was because the virus naturally increases those things."

"The virus is still inside of me, but it bonded with my genes instead of taking me over. I decided to use my gifts to help people instead."

Sherry smiled slightly, and Leon could sense some indecision in her expression. She noticed his expression and seemed to take a moment to phrase her words. "I actually have something to say myself...when I was infected...the cure, it worked, but at the same time...it adapted to my body."

Leon's eyes shot wide open and he started to speak, but Sherry cut him off. "It's nothing bad! I've never displayed any of the mutations of the G-Virus! The only things I got from it were an increased healing rate and a little bit of extra strength."

"I never knew…"

"You were never told," she said humorlessly. "Ever since Raccoon City, I've been under government supervision. The only people that knew were my caretakers and Simmons."

"You mean the National Security Advisor?"

"That's him. He's the one in charge of making sure I'm safe. I'm technically under suspension until the threat of someone taking me is low enough for me to be released."

"He must be the one in charge of this then."

"In charge of what?" Almost as if in response to her question, a man entered the room with an air of confidence that was strangely real.

He had slicked back brown hair that framed his pointed face. A light moustache gave definition to the thin area between his nose and mouth, pairing with his goatee. A bluish grey coat gave him a tall, broad appearance that somehow looked seamless on him. Black shoes came from under the matching work pants. Both of his hands hovered near his collar, chest puffed out in an almost self-important, but assured way. A brilliant gold ring was on his left thumb. Leon recognized him instantly as Derek C. Simmons.

"Sorry for my lateness. I was quite busy. In answer to your question, Mr. Kennedy, it would be because we would like to request the help from Ms. Hidalgo. And we know full well that you two work together."

Leon's gaze turned into a glare. "You want Manuela to train Sherry for you."

Simmons inclined his head in half-admittance. "You would be mostly correct there. It's true that we want her to train Ms. Birkin, but I assure you that the reasoning behind it is purely...egalitarian. You just heard yourself that she's under supervision until we deem the situation safe for her. Now, if she were trained to protect herself, especially by someone who understands her situation…"

"I'd be able to get out of here sooner!" Sherry surmised quickly, rising out of her seat with excitement.

"That's the gist of it," Simmons admitted, nodding towards Sherry. "We only want to make sure that Ms. Birkin is given every chance to experience the world. Keeping her here is doing her any favours. You both would get to work with her; Ms. Hidalgo would teach her about her...abilities, while you, Mr. Kennedy, would train her in being a proper agent, and all that entails."

Leon tried his best to keep down his glare as he appraised Simmons. He had never gotten along well with Simmons. After all, Simmons was on the council that authorized the nuclear strike on Raccoon City, and if what Leon heard was correct, the one most responsible for it.

And now he was playing Sherry against them. He wanted them to train her so that he could have a powerful agent in their hands. If they said no, it would crush Sherry's heart, and he doubted they'd see her again.

The worst part was that deep down, he really didn't want that to happen.

"Can we have a minute to discuss with Sherry? We haven't finished catching up yet," Manuela interrupted, as if reading his mind.

Simmons quirked an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "Ah yes...how rude of me. Of course, I'm sure you have much to discuss. Just think on what I've said."

With that, the man ducked back out of the room with a wave of his ringed hand. Leon waited until he was well out of the room before turning to face Sherry, knowing full well the hopeful grin he'd meet. Never in his life had he been more miserable to see such a hopeful expression.

"So what happened after you two met?"

"Well, I came back to America with Leon. For a while, I stayed in a government hospital while they made sure I was stable. After a time, I decided to become an agent, so I could help people like Leon helped me. So I began training."

"What was the training like...you know, with your abilities and all?"

"It was...weird at first. I was capable of so much more than before. Even without training, I was stronger than I'd ever been."

"She broke one of her trainer's bones on accident," Leon noted with a slight laugh. Sherry's eyes widened in amazement as she looked at Manuela, a new respect in her eyes.

"Wow...what all can you do?"

"Well...when Leon and I were on mission in Spain, there were a few times were we were able to get through some areas we might have needed keys or something to get through. My aiming's a bit better, but that's mostly because I can see things faster."

"I heard about that mission! The official report said that Leon was the only one sent in though. After the President's daughter, right?"

"Manuela's involvement was classified. It was her first real mission, so details concerning her presence were kept out of circulation."

"I imagine they'd do the same for me, huh?" Sherry thought aloud, to which both of them nodded. "What do you guys think I should do? I mean, I can tell you're not exactly thrilled about it."

"I wouldn't say that...it's just...I worry about the reasons behind it. I have no doubt you'd make a great agent, but I want to make sure it's what you'd want to do."

"I agree with Leon. I was in the same place as you at first. They were going to prevent Leon from seeing me unless I agreed to work with them. I decided to become an agent so that I could stay with him and help people."

Sherry nodded in thought, her expression still conflicted. She leaned back in her chair, hugging herself as she thought. Her eyes flicked back and forth, as if weighing her options. "I see…"

"If it's any consolation, I don't regret my decision. I just want you to make sure you're making this decision on your own choice."

Sherry looked to Leon, her eyes searching his hardened face. "Leon...what do you think?"

Leon sighed, settling into his chair. He hated that the decision was being left to him, but he understood why. "Sherry...I think…"

* * *

"I think you made the right choice Leon," Manuela assured, rubbing his back once they were out of the room. Leon stood up straight, facing the sunlight, glaring as if it had personally insulted him.

"I'm not so sure…" Leon sighed, allowing his normally strong shoulders to fall.

"She'll be okay. And I'll be there with her every step of the way. Except when you need me, of course," she finished with a smile. Leon smiled slightly, but worry still was etched on his face.

"I trust you. I just don't want her to get hurt. She survived Raccoon City. That's more than anyone should have to survive."

"She wants to be an agent like you. If she learned anything from you, I have no doubt she'll be fine. Besides, she need someone to help her with her powers. She's already gone six years without that kind of guidance. Even if she doesn't become an agent, she needs to know that she's not alone. That there's somebody who understands her."

Leon nodded in agreement. "I know...I know...and there's nobody I trust more than you to do that. Just...take care of her for me, okay?"

"I know it's not a perfect arrangement, but I promise she'll be alright. Okay?" Manuela gently touched the side of his face, focusing his attention on her. "Besides, you'll be there for all of it, remember?"

Gently, she planted a kiss on the side of his cheek, causing him to lighten his mood slightly. He took her hand in his own, squeezing it. "I trust you. Just...be careful. I don't trust Simmons in the slightest."

"Neither do I. Don't worry. I'll keep her safe from his as well. Now come on, let's get home."

* * *

Sherry landed with a groan. Laying down, she turned to look back at the wall Manuela and her had just climbed. It was a massive scaling wall that went nearly all the way to the ceiling. Just looking at it made her feel even more tired.

All morning, the pair of them had been trying to figure out her baseline in terms of endurance and strength. To do that, they had gone to the gym in the complex where they kept Sherry. She had never tried the climbing wall much before that day, so she wasn't prepared for how sore she felt at the moment.

Manuela stood beside her, smiling gently down at her. She had gotten to the top of the wall well before Sherry and made it down even faster. Sherry would have felt more embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that Manuela had more practice with it all.

"You okay Sherry? Do we need to take a break?"

"A little one...might be nice," Sherry admitted, staring at the ceiling. Even as tired as she felt, the stitches in her side were beginning to lighten and the soreness was fading. It was still uncomfortable and would take a few minutes by her estimates, but it was getting better. "I'm already starting to feel better. Is that how this works?"

"I'm not quite sure to be honest. It's different for everyone," Manuela admitted, causing Sherry to tilt her head to look at the older woman. Manuela was sitting on the floor, gazing off into the distance.

"How does that work? I mean, I know we're infected with different viruses, but shouldn't we have some things in common?"

"There are some things alike. Both of our viruses were taken from the T-Virus, so we inherited the enhanced regeneration and strength, but from there the two are different. In both cases, the only other people to have been infected with the same viruses as us succumbed to them."

"You mean Alexia and my father," Sherry noted with a hint of sadness. Manuela nodded, thinking her words over. "So why did the virus overtake my father and not me? From what I've heard, the T-Veronica can be controlled."

"That's partially true. Remember, I've had it in my body for years and I only survived through organ transplant. Alexia survived from cryogenetics. From Leon's told me, you survived because you received the antivirus. It prevented the G-Virus from reconstructing your cells into mutations."

"That's what the doctors said when they looked at me. It was only after they took a look at you that they started thinking about side effects of the virus. I've only known about the enhanced strength for a few months."

"Did it not show up before?" Manuela asked, surprised. As she thought about it, she realized that it had been similar with her. Once she had known about her viral infection, she had been able to draw from it, and been enhanced by it. "Actually, the same thing happened with me. After I realized that I was infected, I used my blood to help fight my father. It was after that when my powers showed up."

"After they told me about you, I started getting stronger. Not a lot stronger, but enough that I noticed it. That's also when I started healing faster. I had a cold when they told me and within a day it was completely gone." Sherry shook her head. "Why would it work like that?"

"No one really knows. A lot of the doctors theorized that the virus reacts to the way a person is, but they said that a human brain is too complicated for them to have any hope of figuring out the mutation pattern. But they did say that's likely why I'm the way I am, rather than a monster."

"What do you mean?"

"Alexia had full control of her mutations at first. She willingly transformed into the form in the reports because that's what she wanted. Or at least, that's what the doctors have guessed. It was only after she had suffered a lot of damage that her form began to deteriorate, making it so she could no longer exercise control over the virus, changing her into the monstrous form she took."

"So if we were to get really hurt..?'

"There's a chance the virus would destabilize and mutate, yes. With our healing factors, that's unlikely to happen though. The longer you live with it, the closer it gets to your genes, and the less likely you are to mutate. And there's one other thing." Manuela turned to look dead at Sherry, her eyes gleaming with some unknown emotion. "Alexia _chose_ to take the form she did. When she was injured, the virus continued along the path she started, adding more insectile features as she took more damage. But we chose to remain human. When we get injured, it's more likely to try and repair rather than replace. It's only when you allow mutations to occur that you risk sliding down too quickly."

Sherry nodded numbly. "So if I ever did mutate, I'd have to be really careful to not take damage again, or else I could turn into something like...like my dad?"

Manuela nodded grimly. "I think you could probably get away with a slight mutation or two from injury, but you have to be really careful. The G-Virus is unstable, even compared to the Veronica virus. The virus in me was designed to be injected into a willing host, to bond with them. The G-Virus was designed to be the ultimate weapon, capable of creating an unkillable mutant monster. All the information we know about it was gathered from the fights against Birkin and the few files that made it out of Raccoon. There's so much we don't know about it."

Both of them passed into silence as Sherry contemplated her situation. After a time, Manuela stood up, offering her hand to Sherry. "Come on, we have to teach you to fight."

* * *

Sherry held up her hands unsurely, mimicking the style she'd seen boxers do in movies. Manuela copied her stance, though she looked more sure of her pose. "Okay, so for this first session, I want you just to attack so I can see how strong and fast you are, okay?"

"Okay," Sherry replied nervously. Rocking back and forth, she threw a quick punch, impacting Manuela's arm, which stood up to her punch well. Manuela's face made no sign of pain with the impact and she waited patiently as Sherry readied herself. "Sorry, just new to this."

"Don't worry about hurting me. I've had much worse done to me than anything you can do. Just go ahead and unleash. Feel free to try kicks too if you want."

"Alright, if you say so." Sherry attempted a feint, only to find her punch blocked well in advance. Still, Manuela made no motion to stop her other than by meeting her punches with blocks. Starting to get into the flow of things, Sherry threw another punch, this one attempting to go around Manuela' block. Unsurprisingly, that one was also blocked. Grunting, Sherry attempted a jab into Manuela's stomach, but had her other hand knocked aside. Sherry retracted both fists, bringing them back up to herself.

Switching tracks, she tried to do a kick, only to have Manuela block it higher up her leg, almost throwing Sherry off balance. Landing on her rear, Sherry sighed in defeat. "How are you doing that?"

"My reaction times were upped significantly by the virus. I see things faster than most people. If you keep training, it could happen to you too."

"How fast are you?"

Manuela smiled mysteriously. "Pretty fast. There's a reason I prefer melee combat. I'm a good shot, but very few compete with me on a physical level."

"Can I see?" Sherry asked, eyes sparkling with excitement. Manuela rubbed her neck nervously.

"I don't want to hurt you…"

"I'll be fine. Besides, we need to test my healing anyway. Come on, I want to see what I will be able to do," Sherry insisted, determination on her face. Manuela saw she wouldn't be able to talk her down and reluctantly shifted into her combat stance.

"Keep your arms at the ready," Manuela warned cryptically. Sherry barely had time to contemplate what she meant before Manuela had done a straight jab to the girl's chest, instantly knocking the wind out of her. It had happened faster than Sherry even had time to process. She thought she saw the slightest glow in Manuela's eyes before the woman dropped, sweeping with a low kick that knocked Sherry's legs aside, causing the younger girl to impact the floor like a sack of potatoes. Coughing, she tried to roll to her side, only to be stunned.

"Crap, I went too hard. Can you hear me?" Manuela was beside Sherry in an instant, hands on her face. Her expression was full of concern, looking Sherry up and down for injuries.

"I can hear you," Sherry coughed out. With a grunt, she managed to prop herself on her elbow. Looking at down, she could see the blooming bruise on her chest, which stood against her pale skin painfully. "That left a mark."

"Do you need help up? I'm so sorry."

"No no, it's okay. I'll be fine. Besides, I asked you too," Sherry assured, pushing herself unsteadily to a stand. "And anyways, that was super cool."

Manuela smiled nervously, the joke causing her to feel a little better. "I'm glad to hear you're okay. I kinda went into autopilot. I meant to pull my punch a bit more."

"How'd you learn to fight like that? You were so fast, I couldn't even see you."

"Leon brought me to a trainer when we finished with our mission in Spain. He was the same one that trained Leon. It was only after Harvardville that I really applying myself though. Since then, I've just been practicing. It helps that the virus enhanced almost everything about me. Given time, I think you'll be just as strong."

"I look forward to it," Sherry said with a smile.

* * *

And with that, we step out of Harvardville and into the the future! The next story in this series that actually has a plot and isn't just random extras will be "Progenitor War," which will look at some of the actions that occur between RE:Degeneration and RE: Damnation, which was a six year span in all fairness. It will focus primarily on military operations against viral outbreak situations, so keep that in mind when reading it. More notes will be included in the story proper, but until then, it's been fun!


End file.
